U.S. President Donald Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC can go to trial in 2027, a U.S. judge has said.

Judge Roy Kalman Altman of the federal court for the Southern District of Florida rejected an attempt by Britain's national broadcaster to delay proceedings.

He set a provisional start date of February 15, 2027, for a two-week trial. Altman's court order was issued Wednesday.

Trump filed a lawsuit in December over the way the BBC edited a speech he gave on January 6, 2021. The claim seeks $5 billion in damages for defamation and $5 billion for unfair trade practices.

The speech took place before some of Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress was poised to certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election that Trump falsely alleged was stolen from him.

The broadcaster has apologized to Trump over the edit of the January 6 speech. But the publicly funded BBC rejects claims it defamed him. 

Papers filed last month said the BBC plans to file a motion to dismiss the case on the basis that the court lacks jurisdiction because the program was not broadcast in Florida and that Trump failed to state a claim.

Ahead of that motion, it asked the court to postpone discovery, the pretrial process in which parties must turn over documents and other information, pending a decision on the motion to dismiss. The discovery process could require the BBC to hand over reams of emails and other materials related to its coverage of Trump.

The judge said the motion "is premature" because it’s too early in the legal process for the BBC to request such a stay.

The BBC said, "We will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings."

(With input from AP)